Mitch Fox, Lucky Publisher Sandy Golinkin Out At Conde Nast

Posted by: Jon Fine on January 07, 2008

Ever-so-slightly ahead of an imminent major reorganization announcement (UPDATE 5:45 PM: announcement pasted after the jump), I am hearing that Conde Nast Group President Mitch Fox is leaving the company—something Fox himself shared with some key colleagues via email.

Fox, a former publisher of Details who also served as CEO of the company’s Golf Digest Group, most recently held the title Group President and Publishing Director.

Also leaving the company: Sandy Golinkin, who had been Publisher of pioneering shopping title Lucky since its launch, and Amy Churgin, a former Publisher of Gourmet and Architectural Digest who was most recently SVP of the publisher’s group sales arm, the Conde Nast Media Group. Lou Cona will step down as Publisher of the New Yorker. Drew Schutte, formerly the Publisher of Wired, will become Publisher of the New Yorker.

Teen Vogue Publisher Gina Sanders will replace Golinkin.

Coming very shortly: A significant reorganization of Conde Nast’s corporate structure, in which Vogue Publisher Tom Florio and Conde Nast Portfolio Publisher David Carey are expected to gain additional responsibilities. (UPDATE: Those details are embedded in the announcementm which follows the Fox missive.)

Email from Mitch Fox follows after the jump:

To All,

I wish I could tell you all at the same time, but that’s just not practical, and the word will be spreading shortly, so I have to resort to an e mail to inform you that I will be leaving Conde Nast.

After conversations with Chuck, we agreed that my position does not fully utilize my abilities…and as a result we mutually agreed that I will depart the company.

Of course I’m not leaving the premises for a while, and I’d be delighted to speak with or meet with any of you relative to outstanding business issues….but I did want you to know as soon as possible.

I will elaborate more later, but I can’t sign off without saying how much I enjoyed working with all of you, and how bright your futures look…I will always wish you only the best continued success as you are poised to enjoy.

Warmly,

Mitch

A Conde Nast spokeswoman did not immediately return calls and an email that sought comment. (UPDATE: However, she did send along the following release when it came out.)

New York, NY, January 7, 2008 -- Condé Nast Publications announced the appointment of three new Senior Vice Presidents and several related executive changes, effective immediately.

“This is an exciting time for our company,” said Charles H. Townsend, President and Chief Executive Officer of Condé Nast Publications. “These changes in our management structure position us for many years of continued growth.”

Thomas A. Florio, currently Vice President and Publishing Director of Vogue, Men’s Vogue, and Vogue Living is being named Senior Vice President and Publishing Director and will now oversee the Teen Vogue publishing business as well. Since Mr. Florio joined Vogue in February 2002, the magazine has increased market share, developed multi-media initiatives for the internet, TV, and film, and published some of the largest issues in its history. In his 20 years at Condé Nast, Mr. Florio has applied his singular talents to a number of other leading publications including GQ, The New Yorker, and Condé Nast Traveler. “Tom has done an extraordinary job building the Vogue franchise in the marketplace, and it makes perfect sense that his group should evolve to include Teen Vogue,” noted Mr. Townsend.

William Wackermann, currently Vice President and Publisher of Glamour, will now add oversight of the Condé Nast Bridal Media Group to his responsibilities and is being promoted to Senior Vice President and Publishing Director. Another Condé Nast veteran, Mr. Wackermann honed his publishing skills at Details, Condé Nast Traveler, Vanity Fair, and House & Garden. “Under Bill’s direction, Glamour magazine has resonated in the ad community as an important vehicle to reach American women,” said Mr. Townsend. “We look forward to his leveraging that talent and experience at Brides, Modern Bride, Elegant Bride, Brides.com, and the regional and special issue bridal publications.”

Louis Cona, Vice President and Publisher of The New Yorker, has been promoted to Senior Vice President of the Condé Nast Media Group. Reporting to Richard Beckman, Mr. Cona will now oversee all of the Media Group’s sales and marketing teams. “Given Lou’s success at two of our high profile publications — Vanity Fair and The New Yorker – we anticipate great results as he brings his ad sales expertise to all of our titles,” Mr. Townsend said. Prior to joining Condé Nast, Mr. Cona was publisher of InStyle magazine.

Also announced were the following important executive changes.

Replacing Mr. Cona, Drew Schutte has been named Vice President and Publishing Director of The New Yorker and its web site, TNY.com. In his eight-year run as Publisher of Wired then Publishing Director of Wired Media, Mr. Schutte presided over the franchise’s advertising growth as well as the effective integration of Wired magazine and WiredNews.com. “We have great confidence that Drew will take The New Yorker and TNY.com to new heights,” noted Mr. Townsend.

Gina Sanders has been named Vice President and Publisher of Lucky. “We applaud Gina’s efforts in leading Teen Vogue from launch to profitability and look forward to her stewardship of Lucky as it continues its financial and editorial growth,” said Mr. Townsend. Prior to successfully launching Teen Vogue, Ms. Sanders was Publisher of Gourmet. Mr. Florio will name a new publisher for Teen Vogue in the coming weeks.

David Carey, Group President and Publishing Director, Condé Nast Publications will now oversee Wired Media and the Golf Digest Group in addition to the Business Media Group, which includes Condé Nast Portfolio and portfolio.com. “We recognize the natural synergy that exists among these brands in the advertising community, and David has established himself as an accomplished executive in this arena,” Mr. Townsend said.

As part of this restructuring Mitchell B. Fox, Amy Churgin, and Alexandra Golinkin will be leaving the Company. Mr. Fox was Group President and Publishing Director of the Golf Digest Group, the Fairchild Fashion Group, and the Condé Nast Bridal Media Group. Ms. Churgin was Senior Vice President of the Condé Nast Media Group overseeing corporate sales. Ms. Golinkin was Vice President and Publisher of Lucky.

“We are grateful to Mitch, Amy, and Sandy for the numerous contributions they have made to our magazines and to our company over the course of their tenure,” commented Mr. Townsend, “We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”

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The media, entertainment and marketing worlds continue to shapeshift on a near-daily basis, as new forms arise and old assumptions erode. Where is it all going? No one really knows. But on this blog BusinessWeek’s media writers Tom Lowry and Ron Grover promise to provide ample helpings of scoop, provocation, and sharp analysis as they track and annotate this constantly changing terrain.